Vizag Inching Closer To Smart City 30-Jul-2015
Taking another step in the direction of becoming one of the first smart cities in the country, Visakhapatnam has been selected among top three cities from Andhra Pradesh under the Central Government’s Smart Cities Mission.
The GVMC authorities are gearing up to get through the second level of clearance at the national level as the US has already promised to help transform Vizag into a smart city. The proposals made by Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) along with the municipal bodies of Tirupati and Kakinada will be submitted to the Central government on Thursday.
The State Government has decided to develop 13 smart cities in the state including three smart metropolitan cities. Except for Srikakulam and Vizianagaram, all the district headquarters are in the race for the smart city project. Among all the municipal bodies which are competing for the project in the state, Vizag is the frontrunner, followed by Tirupati and Kakinada. All three cities were cleared by the state-level screening committee and the reports will be submitted to the Central government for screening at the national level. “Based on the proposals submitted and basic criterion, the Central Government will take the final decision on the cities selected for development under the Smart City Mission,” a senior official said.

Works Apace To Make City Glamourous 30-Jul-2015
In view of the country’s prestigious International Fleet Review (IFR) to be held here in February next year, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation has geared up all its machinery to smarten the city. The GVMC has drafted various plans to make the city clean and green.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has also directed senior officials to ensure that all the works were completed on schedule. It is learnt that 35 nations had confirmed participation in the event and the CM wants to use the event to get bigger mileage to Visakhapatnam region by decking up the city to international standards. According to a senior IAS officer, the CM wants to cash in on the event to promote Visakhapatnam region worldwide.
“After the bifurcation, the CM has been going places to draw the attention of the world to the newborn state. The CM had already promised that the State Government would go all out to help the Navy and there would be no funds problem. During the Godavari Maha Pushkaralu, the arrangements and other works were not completed within the timeline. The government does not want a repeat and is keen to finish all the arrangements like roads and city beautification much before the deadline. Already the GVMC has prepared action plans and is currently preparing detailed reports of various works,” the senior official said.

VDCA Website Launched 29-Jul-2015
Website of Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA) — vdcaonline.com — was launched by Collector and association president N. Yuvaraj here on Tuesday.
Association working president and MLA P. Vishnukumar Raju, vice-presidents D.S. Varma and T.S.R. Prasad, secretary K. Parthasaradhi, joint secretaries A.P. Naidu and Bhogendra Babu and others were present.
Mr. Varma and Mr. Parthasaradhi said that the website would provide information about the schedule of league matches, scorecards and statistics and about teams, players, tournaments and details of VDCA Academy which is useful to players and team officials.
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City Joins Mourning For Lost Leader 29-Jul-2015
Following the sudden and sad demise of former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam, the districts of North Coastal Andhra joined the nation in grieving for its lost son. Leading the condolences are the Collectorates of the three districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, followed by GVMC, ECoR, Police Commissionerate, PSUs and educational institutions of Port City among others.
NSTL: Authorities of NSTL Visakhapatnam have announced that they would be observing seven-day mourning starting Tuesday. Scientist ‘G’ and NSTL principal associate director Debasish Chakraborti paid floral tributes to a portrait of the former President on the NSTL premises. Employees of NSTL including senior scientists, officers, NSTL Civil Employees Union, JCM and staff of NSTL too, paid respects to APJ Abdul Kalam. The authorities recollected memories of Kalam on various occasions, when he had visited NSTL for official purposes as well as for active participation in various social-services activities like distribution of light-weight polio calipers and Braille books.
Visakhapatnam Collectorate: District collector N Yuvaraj expressed his deep condolences over the demise of APJ Abdul Kalam. He termed it a great loss for the country, particularly students and youngsters. Yuvaraj said that Kalam was the first person who spoke about development. He said that with the book ‘Wings of Fire’, Kalam has showcased India to the world. “Kalam always loved his mother tongue, native place and t...

Vizag Beach-Most Dangerous In World 27-Jul-2015
Beaches anywhere in the world are tourist getaways, but Visakhapatnam, called Goa of the East, with a number of scenic beaches is turning out to be a deathtrap for beach lovers.
The beaches are devoid of public address systems and enough warning boards. The result of this is that around 425 deaths have been reported at the six beaches in the city in the past eight years. In most cases, it is students, especially schoolkids, who have met with a watery grave. In the first week of this month, six school students drowned in a beach near Appikonda. Apart from major tourist getaways like Ramakrishna Beach, Rushikonda, Bheemili, Yarada, Appikonda, Gangavaram and Mangamaripeta, beach lovers hang out at Jodugulapalem, Lawson’s Bay, Bheemili and Atchutapuram during weekends — these are far more dangerous stretches. Oceanography experts point out that rip currents are the major reason for the mishaps. Rip currents, which cannot be seen with naked eyes, trigger intense tides which have the ability to suck anyone into the sea. “Due to man-made constructions and encroachments, rip currents are forming in city beaches. The profile of the city beaches has gradually changed. Venturing into these beaches is highly risky,” said retired Andhra University Oceanography HoD Prof OSRU Bhanu Kumar. The retired professor said rip currents form on the Yarada-Bheemili stretch.

Animal Under Sh 1,2 Cant Be Shifted 27-Jul-2015
The city's Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) has many animals listed under Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It's also the only zoo in India that's centrally designated as a conservation and breeding centre for the Asiatic wild dog (dholes). These endangered animals listed under Schedule 1 and 2 can't be disturbed or shifted from their present natural habitat, say wildlife biologists and green activists.
Birds and reptiles listed under Schedule 1 and 2 are also found in the zoo. The endangered animals include rusty spotted cats, Bengal monitor lizard, fishing cat (endangered), Indian rock python, Indian pangolin, mouse deer, peafowls, jungle fowls, hornbills, Indian fox, civets, jungle cats, rat snake, common palm civet, jackals, foxes, marmots, macaque, chameleon, langur, wild dog and reptlies like cobra and viper.

Modernisation Threatens 24-Jul-2015
The Visakhapatnam zilla parishad building is one of those majestic colonial structures in the city that have unfortunately been partially tampered with.
A rectangular building with two central halls on the ground and first floors, the structure has large enclosed roofed verandahs in front that provide space for the staircase. The old staircase was made of wood and the verandah was Madras terraced. Unfortunately, the verandah has been converted into a modern RCC structure post 2005.
According to heritage enthusiast Edward Paul, the structure was built in the 1920s after the Andhra District Board Act was passed. "The Andhra Zone District Board Act, Madras Presidency, was enacted in the year 1920 and the building came into existence in 1925. The structure is over 90 years old and has weathered many a storm. However, the beauty of it has been lost ever since the front foyer was turned into an RCC structure."

Mr Minister, Leave Our Zoo Alone 24-Jul-2015
If politicians with vested interests have their way, one of the largest and most beautiful zoos in the country — the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) in the Port City — may well cease to exist in a few years to come.
Vizagites will no longer be able to feast their eyes on exotic flora and fauna of a zoo park or the proposed botanical garden but may have to put up with a concrete jungle on the same area that houses the forested zoo at present. After all, 625 acres of fertile forest land is too big an area for greedy land grabbers and politicians to ignore.
Vizagites of all walks are now seeing red over the recent statement of state human resource development (HRD) minister Ganta Srinivas Rao, who made public the unwarranted proposal of shifting the city zoo to Kambalakonda or elsewhere and develop a botanical garden in its place.

Vizagites Logging On To Buy & Sell 23-Jul-2015
Thirty-year-old Satish Reddy of Pedawaltair recently wanted to sell his 2007 model motorcycle as he was planning to purchase a car. First he spread the word among his friends but failed to get much of a response.
Subsequently, he visited a second hand two-wheeler dealer to sell his bike. Unhappy with the price quoted by the dealer, Reddy started looking at other options when his friend suggested that he put up his bike along with pictures on one of the several online classifieds portals. Within a couple of hours, Reddy received nearly eight enquiries for his motorbike and managed to sell it within two days.
Like Reddy, many Vizagites are now taking to online classified portals such as Quikr, Olx, Cartrade, among others, to sell or purchase second hand scooters, motorbikes and even cars. According to industry sources, Vizag sees at least 200-plus postings every day with people wanting to bypass traditional middlemen to get more value for their products.

Self-Defence Is The Best Protection 23-Jul-2015
The Waltair division of East Coast Railway Women’s Welfare Organisation in association with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) organised ‘Self-Defence Demonstration’ for women at Srinivasa Kalyanamandapam here Wednesday. A large number of women working in railways, wards and spouses of railwaymen witnessed the demonstration and learnt a few techniques of self-defence. The aim was to develop self-defence skills and empower women.
Black belt holder R Krishna Priya who is a master in marshal arts and Black Belt holder (V dan) Bala Raju, along with 66 children of various schools participated in the self-defence demonstration. Various skills were showcased to the audience for protecting themselves during adverse situations.
DRM Chandralekha Mukherjee addressed the gathering and gave tips that could be helpful for protection and tackling odd situations. She presented certificates to the participants of the workshop on this occasion. Vice-president Santosh Meena, secretary Madhuri Kasipathi, assistant DRM Madanlal Meena, senior divisional safety commissioner of RPF Ibrahim Shareef and others were present.